Reinhard I Zigmar
Reinhard I Zigmar was the eighth monarch of Rhen. He was known for his ineffectual attempts to stop the dissolution of the Great Saltsmoke Peace. Early life As a young child, Reinhard was often brought on campaign with his father Henry, while Henry was off fighting the Four Brothers War. The brutal scenes of war haunted Reinhard, and as he grew older he became scholarly and diplomatic so as to learn how to avoid war whenever possible. Reinhard was also somewhat of a shy child, spending much of his time buried in the library by himself. Reign At the age of sixteen, Reinhard found himself abruptly thrust onto the throne when Henry was assassinated (purportedly by his brother, Ingo). Reinhard sought to foster peace and prosperity within the realm, especially in the wake of the war, and as such made no effort to reclaim the lost territories of Batr Elois and West Yorna. Rather, Reinhard looked to try to improve agriculture in the desert that comprised most of Rhen, and experimented with various forms of irrigation. In the 110s, as Pyotr IV of Ferix began to amass his armies, tensions began to rise in the east. This caused the newly republican Hecrivast, still insecure about its government, to build up its own army in case defense was possibly needed. Reinhard was frightened by the possibility of war, especially given the large Hecrivastin population in his own nation, and so he made a few desperate overtures towards both powers in the later part of the decade; however, he was mostly shrugged off. Meanwhile in Pierroge, the spies of Toussaint V grew suspicious about Reinhard's frequent meetings with eastern powers, and old tensions began to build again. In 121, Reinhard met with Toussaint V to assert his neutrality, but Toussaint was skeptical of Reinhard's nervous demeanor and began to amass his own army for protection. Tensions on both sides mounted through the following years, and Reinhard was powerless to stop the fighting as, in 129, the two sides declared war. As the troops marched from both sides, Reinhard met with leaders from both sides to try to find a diplomatic solution, and met with abject failure. For a while, Reinhard tried to stay neutral, but troops from both sides were frequently marching through the south of Rhen, and so Reinhard faced increasing pressure to join the war and defend Rhen's borders. Thus, in 136, Rhen formally entered the war. Pierroge was quick to recapture Castilene, which it had sought ever since the Peace of Collinschwef, and moved the bulk of its army there to keep hold of it. Reinhard, hesitant and little prepared, did poorly in battle, and Hecrivast was plagued by attacks from the new Ferician king, Josef V. Thus, Pierroge effectively took full control of Castilene before long. In 140, Hecrivast's newly elected Chamberlain, Wenzel Degradde, began to sue for peace; Reinhard was quick to follow suit, and so Pierroge came to be victorious in the conflict. Rhen lost Castilene, pushing Reinhard into disfavor, and the people were thoroughly sick of him by the time he died of pneumonia in 141. Personal life Reinhard married Florette Saincophe, a Rhennish woman of Pierrogic descent, in 105; he had been somewhat rushed into the decision after his coronation, and as such the marriage proved to be loveless. After having two sons, Reinhard decided to stop having children out of fear of a Four-Brothers-type war happening after his death, and Florette was pleased by the proposition. During the war, Florette made no secret of her Pierrogic sympathies, and so after Rhen entered the war, Florette left the country and moved into an estate at Craugne. However, she was suspected of being a Rhennish spy, and lived out her days in obscurity there. Category:Rhennishmen Category:Zigmar Family Category:Monarchs